More support for vulnerable Canadians is coming, Trudeau says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference to give an update from self isolation at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa to give an update on the government's response to COVID-19 outbreaks on Mar. 17, 2020. Andrew Meade/iPolitics

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says more help is on the way for vulnerable Canadians as the country’s low wage workers face the brunt of COVID-19’s economic storm.

“In the coming days, we will announce additional measures to help the most vulnerable: youth, marginalized people, people living in poverty,” Trudeau said at a Friday news conference. “We’re going to have more news to share with you very soon.”

Ottawa has so far unveiled an ever-changing list of financial measures that would benefit lower-income Canadians, many of whom work in sectors such as retail and accommodation that have seen massive layoffs in the last two weeks.

It includes a $400 GST credit and up to $300 Canada Child Benefit top-ups as well as six-month deferrals on student loan repayments and amounts owed on taxes. More than $200 million has also been earmarked for organizations helping the homeless, women’s shelters as well as Indigenous communities.

As well, Ottawa has created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which will relieve the overburdened employment insurance system for all COVID-19-related claims, providing Canadians who are out of work due to the pandemic $2,000 per month for four months. Higher wage subsidies announced Friday will help keep workers from being let go.

However, David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said accessing federal benefits for vulnerable populations is an issue.

“For a lot of folks who’ve been hit hard by this, they don’t necessarily have internet at home. In the past, you’d go to the library and access it there. Those aren’t open anymore,” he told iPolitics.

Public agencies and non-government organizations offering tax clinics and other public services have largely closed their doors since the outbreak began. Service Canada also announced late Thursday that it would close in-person offices, meaning online and telephone would be the only options for applying and asking questions.

Trudeau said Friday “we will be making special considerations for people who are particularly vulnerable and have difficulties accessing those services.”

Research conducted by Carleton University professors Jennifer Robson and Saul Schwartz shows about one in 10 Canadians do not file their taxes. Meanwhile, others struggle with the burdensome process of gathering the right documentation to apply for federal supports.

Robson has said governments could fund on-the-ground organizations to offer tax services to marginalized communities.

Alex Wellstead, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said “everything is on the table,” which includes looking at improving access, more financial support and new help for target groups such as Canada’s homeless population.

Macdonald noted that there were about one million Canadians already unemployed entering into the crisis, with only one-third of them in the EI system.

“Two thirds were not because they didn’t have enough hours to qualify,” he said. “That’s not a small group. That’s 600,000 people.”

To receive the CERB, meanwhile, an applicant must have earned $5,000 in income in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to applying.

Legislation passed Wednesday offers Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough the power to make interim orders under the Employment Insurance Act that would allow Ottawa to broaden EI coverage.

Meanwhile, young people may now be without job opportunities for the summer or be eligible for government support. Student organizations have called on federal and provincial governments to defer student loan repayments and ensure students have access to federal income relief.

Advocates have also alerted the public and governments that homeless populations and other marginalized groups are extremely vulnerable to both the health and economic risks with COVID-19.

Lower levels of government have offered some help. British Columbia, for example, announced this week that it would pay up to $500 of struggling tenants’ rent to their landlords, while ordering a freeze on evictions and rent hikes. Toronto has opened nine new shelters for homeless people with more than 350 spaces to help improve social distancing.

As for recipients of the CERB, an analysis by Macdonald published Thursday shows more than four in five workers in sectors at the highest risk of being hit by layoffs in the first weeks of the crisis will see more support from the benefit than EI. For higher income earners, EI, which covers 55 per cent of one’s income, may have offered more to a maximum of $573 per week.

But Qualtrough said Thursday that EI-eligible Canadians applying for EI benefits due to COVID-19-related reasons, from now until the CERB portal is public — or have already applied since March 15 — will be automatically enrolled into the CERB. A government official later told iPolitics that it meant all COVID-19 related claims will eventually “fall into the same bucket.”

Trudeau said Friday the benefit will not be withheld at source, meaning amounts Canadians receive next month will be a flat $2,000 with tax to be paid at filing time in 2021.